WASHINGTON, D.C.- Temple mounted a fierce second-half comeback but it could not find an answer for Richmond's Caroline McGuire, as the Owls fell, 13-11, to the Spiders in the final game of the 2006 Atlantic 10 Women's Lacrosse Championship. McGuire netted six goals as the Tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Temple ends the season with a 10-8 overall record and a 5-2 A-10 record.
Allison Frengs and Casey Cech scored two goals and dished two assists, while Corey Leader and Nicole Caniglia netted two goals and one assist a piece. Whitney Richards had a goal and an assist and Johna Capaldo and Nicole Cataldo each had one goal.
The teams went goal for goal in the opening minutes of the game, with neither team able to take more than a one goal lead. Richmond's Mandy Friend earned the game's first tally after converting a free position shot at 24:21 and Corey Leader answered with a free position goal of her own at 21:47 to tie the game at one. Allison Frengs caught the ensuing draw and passed down to a cutting Nicole Caniglia to put TU ahead, 2-1, just 20 seconds later. Just when it seemed the Owls were going to go on a run, Temple suffered both an offensive and defensive breakdown. The Spiders went on a six-goal run, sparked by four tallies by Caroline McGuire, to take a 7-2 lead at 4:26. Casey Cech finally broke the Richmond scoring rout when she netted a free position goal with 43 seconds remaining in the first half. Frengs found the back of the net just 20 seconds later, continuing to dig the Owls out of the hole and making it 7-4 at the break.
Allison Nuzzi struck first in the second half, making it 8-4 just a minute and a half into the stanza but Nicole Cataldo answered with a tally at 27:01 after taking a pass from Cech to keep the three goal differential. The Spiders went on a three-goal run to make it 11-5 with 18 minutes remaining but Temple answered with a four-goal run of its own. The Owls got four goals from four different players in just one minute, 23 seconds to cut Richmond's lead to just two goals. Frengs ended the UR run with an unassisted goal at 17:36. Whitney Richards fed a cutting Corey Leader for the Owls' seventh goal at 17:17 to make it 11-7 and Caniglia caught a pass from Frengs at 16:52 to make it 11-8. Just 30 seconds later, Cech fed Richards for an 11-9 score. Mandy Friend got Richmond back on the scoring track with an unassisted goal at 15:20 but it was just a brief hiccup as Cech made it a two goal game yet again (12-10) at 14:44. With the momentum in their favor, the Owls just began to shoot. Caniglia picked up the rebounded from a deflected shot and passed to Johna Capaldo, who made it 12-11 at 7:43. With time ticking down both teams began to get physical. After failing to convert on four straight shots, Temple lost possession and UR's McGuire capitalized with an unassisted goal with just 55 seconds remaining. Though TU continued to fight, it couldn't change the 13-11 outcome.
Sophomore Whitney Richards made her second straight appearance on the A-10's All-Tournament team. Junior Allison Frengs and senior Corey Leader were also honored.
Caitlin Gregory earned five saves in the loss, while Bridget McMullan had one. Richmond's Jackie Swansburg tallied nine saves as a member of the All-Tournament team.
